ThermalitoCA
A town of 6,720, settled in 1895.
Is Thermalito a good place to live?
Thermalito grades D− overall, ranked 812th of 841 in California, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $55K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 79% of the country. One bright spot: it has 16 miles of trail and 44% conserved land. 44% of the land in Thermalito is conserved, above both California’s towns (4.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 83 of California’s 1,063 towns score lower on walkability. The biggest place to walk is Oroville Wildlife Management Area, 2,624 acres with 13.8 miles of trail.
16 miles of trails in Thermalito
44.2% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
How Thermalito grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Thermalito is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Thermalito: who provides what
Thermalito is unincorporated, so Butte County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Thermalito.
Thermalito keeps more of its land conserved than most of California, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
Nearly a third of Thermalito is conserved land
Its 3,615 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 97% of California towns.
Thermalito’s concentration of trails comes in at 1.2 miles per square mile. 16 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oroville Wildlife Management Area | 13.8 mi | 2,624 |
| 2. Clay Pit State Vehicular Recreation Area | — | 218 |
| 3. Lake Oroville State Recreational Area | — | 134 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Thermalito’s schools rank behind 75% of California districts
One of its 3 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Its public schools are run by the Thermalito Union Elementary school district. The 3 public schools in Thermalito teach 732 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Avenue ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 365 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
For health, Thermalito earns a C−
Against the 7,377 U.S. towns with household incomes like Thermalito’s, it is less healthy than 59%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
Thermalito: 31% of adults have obesity, above the California town median (29%) but below the median of U.S. towns (35%). The share of adults in Thermalito who report frequent physical distress: 17%.
| Thermalito | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Thermalito | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 18.4% | 10.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.1% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The biggest natural risk in Thermalito is inland flooding, at a high overall level
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 79% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Thermalito once, in 2018. The town has had 2 paid flood insurance claims since 1995.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
About one in three of Thermalito’s working residents commute to Oroville
Thermalito has 393 jobs for its 2,387 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
For most workers, Thermalito is a place to come home to: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Thermalito grew to 393 in 2023, 42 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Oroville (31%), Chico (14%) and Oroville East (5%). The median commute is under 16 miles.
| Thermalito | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Thermalito has four seasons and hot summers
July afternoons average 96.3°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39.1°.
In Thermalito, the midsummer high is 96°F.
| Thermalito | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 39°F | 41°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Thermalito sell for about $327K
The median property tax bill is $1,341, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
On the market in Thermalito: a median 15 days to sell. The town’s midpoint rent stands at $1,178 a month. A third of the homes sold in Thermalito went for more than their asking price.
| Thermalito | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,178 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Thermalito
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Thermalito
About 4 of every 100 Thermalito residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
97% of working residents leave Thermalito for work
Where Thermalito’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Thermalito
Census designated place in California, USA
Thermalito (Spanish for "Small Thermal") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 7,198 at the 2020 census, up from 6,646 at the 2010 census. The area is generally considered an integral part of Oroville, and borders the town on two sides, in addition to the near-enclave of the city of Oroville surrounded by Thermalito on all sides, with the exception of the extremely narrow spit of land connecting Afterbay to Oroville proper.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 13 sq mi
- Elevation
- 223 ft
- Area code
- 530
Thermalito’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Thermalito.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermalito | #812 | D− | C+ | — | C | C− |
| Oroville | #835 | D− | C− | D− | C− | C− |
Thermalito reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Thermalito with a neighbor →
Questions about Thermalito
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Thermalito, CA a good place to live?
Thermalito grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #812 of 841 in California. It grades C− for health and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Thermalito, CA expensive?
The typical home is worth about $255,000, 67% below the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.